Apparatus for indicating and adjusting the specific gravity of suspensions



Oct. 26, 1943. K. F. TROMP 2,332,953

APPARATUS FOR INDICATING' AND ADJUSTING THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF SUSPENSIQNS Filed June 4, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 APPARATUS FOR INI DICATING AND ADJUSTING THE 1943- I K F; TROMP I A 2,332,953

SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF SUSPENSIONS Fi led June 4, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 & 4 s2 30 3| arr-04 Patented Oct. 26, 1943 APPARATUS FOR INDICATING AND ADJUST- ING THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF SUS- PENSIONS laas F. Troinp, Kerkrade, Limburg, Netherlands; vested in. the Alien Property Custodian Application June 4, 1940, Serial No. 338,794 In Great Britain June 5, 1939 1 Claim. (01. 131-78) This invention relates to improved apparatus for continuously determining and, if desired, ad-

qjusting the specific gravity of a suspension of comminuted solids, e. g. sand, in a liquid, e. g. water, to be used for separating materials oi different specific gravities, for instance in a manner as disclosed by my prior U. S. patent specification 2,139,047.

In accordance with this invention, the suspension is continuously fed into a substantially closed vat, which actually forms the weighing pan of a weighing apparatus fitted with weightindh eating means, and which is provided, in addition to restricted outlet openings both at top and bottom, with a suspension inlet pipe passing with some clearance through one of said openings and preferably equipped with means compelling the suspension to flow into the vat, intermediate top and bottom openings, along a substantially horizontal path.

Owing to this construction, the vat during operation always remains completely filled with suspension that is continuously replenished and homogenized, since the discharge of the inflowing suspension both at the top and at the bottom prevents the comminuted solids from settling.

. The weight indicating. means of the weighing apparatus disclose any deviation from the desired specific weight of the suspension in the vat and thereby allow the operator to either dilute or concentrate the suspension, as circumstances require. Alternatively, said means may be associated with a device for automatically adjusting the specific gravity of the suspension.

In order that my invention may be well understood by those skilled in the art l shall now proceed to describe the same with reference to i the annexed diagrammatic drawings, which 11- lustrates, by way of example only, three different apparatuses embodying the features of said invention.

Fig. 1 is partly an elevation, partly a vertical section of the first embodiment,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view along theline II- ll in ,Fig. 1,

3 is partly an elevation, partly a vertical section of the second embodiment,

3a is a vertical section of a portion of Fig. 3 on a larger scale,

Fig. l is partly an elevation, partly a vertical ection oi the third embodiment; and Fig. 5 is a plan sectional View along the line V-V in Fig. l.

In Fig l, the reference numeralfl designates the weighing beam of a weighing apparatus.

Suspended from one arm of said beam is a weight 5, and suspended from the other is a vat 6. Secured to beam 4 is apointer cooperating with a dial 8.

Vat 6 is double-cone-shaped and is provided with a relatively small bottom opening 9 and a somewhat larger top opening ill. Fitted around the edge of opening Ill is a cylindrical shell ll surrounded by an annular chute having an inclined spout l2.

The Vat 6 and the chute with spout l2 are enclosed by a stationary open top receptacle l3 having a discharge bottom opening Eta.

Mounted some distance vertically above re ceptacle I3 is a stationary tank it provided near its bottom with an inlet l5. Said tank is further fitted with an overflow pipe 53 discharging into receptacle I3, and with a vertical outlet pipe ll passing with some clearance through the shell H and opening about in the centre of vat t.

Secured to the lower end of pipe l'iand suitably spaced therefrom is a horizontal baffle it.

The device described so far can be used for continuously determining the specific gravity ol a suspension fed into tank i l by pipe 15. Provided the rate of feed to be sufficient, the level of the suspension in said tank will always coincide with that of the top opening of overflow pipe l6. From said tank, the suspension will flow, through pipe ll, into the vat 6, whichwill be kept completely filled thereby, the excess being discharged, both through the bottom opening t and through the spout i2, into the receptacle l3, whence'it is discharged by the outlet 53a. Owing to the presence of baiile E8, the suspension enters the vat 6 in substantially horizontal direction, so that its vertical reaction on the vat is apprentmately nil.

Since the vat 5 is thus always kept filled with a predetermined amount of homogenized suspension, the weight indicated by pointer B will also indicate the specific gravity of the suspension. As long as the specific gravity of the susp'ension'entering the tank l4 remains constant, pointer 8 will remain stationary. Movement of the pointer in the one or in the other direction will indicate that the suspension is to be diluted or concentrated.

Meanwhile, the apparatus described so far is also suitable for cooperation with means adapted to directly correct the'desired specific gravity of the suspension in tank I4. Thesemeans are also illustrated in Fig. 1, and will now be described.

Mounted on the top of tank M are two casings i9 and w divided, by vertical partitions 2d and Ell respectively, into two compartments 2t, 22

and 25 22 respectively. The bottom outlets Attached to the means whereby vat 6 is suspended from the beam 6 is a structure-comprising, inaddition to the required vertical guide walls, two vertical bailles 25 and 25 having slanting bottom edges and arrangedin frontof the inlets 24 and 24 respectively, in such a manner as to allow part of the liquidsuppl-iedby-said inlets to flow intocompartments 22 and EH, re-

spectively, the other part being compelled by saidbafiles to vertically'iall into compartments ill and 22 respectively, as will be understood from Fig. 2. Upward movement of the bafilesZ-E, 525 will increase the proportion of the liquid 'fed to compartments 22, 2F and reduce the proportion of the liquid supplied-to compartments Zl, whereas downward r movement of the baliles will have the opposite effect.

If pipe i5 is obturated, and inletsM, 2% are in communication, through-suitable conduits, with receptacles (not shown) filled withsuspensions of relatively low and of relativelyhigh-specific gravity, respectively, whichsuspensions are to be mixed continuously to form a suspension of-predetermined medium specific gravity to be" discharged from receptacle it, then, as will be understood, tank M will receive part of the light suspension supplied. through inlet 2 Z,-and also part of the heavy suspension suppliedthrough inlet 26 the balance being discharged through pipe 23.

The mixture formedin tank M is supplied to vat G, which, as hereinbefore described, willbe kept completely filled-with a homogeneous suspension.- If said mixture has the desired specific gravity (the valueof which-is determined by the weight 5), the vat't remains poised, and this means that thebaffles 25,'25 assume -the correct positions in relation to the densities of the suspension supplied by inlets 24 an'di i re- 'spectively.

Assuming now the specificgravity of the-suspensionin tank 14, and consequentlyinvat-fi to increase, vat 6 will descend, whereby baiiies'25, 25 will also movedownward, so that theproportion of light'suspension.supplied to tank it increases and the proportion oi heavy suspension supplied to said tank is reduced, the result being that the specific gravity of the;mixture in the tank will fall. In. the oppositewcase, vat B and bafi'les '25, '25 'will rise and causezthespecific gravity of the mixture in tank l l to increase. Thus, the desired specific gravity will alwaysbe automatically restored.

It will be understoodvthat the mixture in tank it may also be composed of a relatively heavy suspension and clean water, in which case inlet 24 should communicate witha water-reservoir.

Fig. 3 of the drawing illustrates another-apparatus by means of which a-relatively heavy suspension, for instance from a thickenengmay be diluted to produce a suspension. of predetermined medium specific gravity. .In thisfig-ure,;parts corresponding to partsshown in Fig; l-aredesignated by the same reference numerals, sothat they, need-not further be-described.

'bafile just opposite to, but suitably spaced from its openend.

The means whereby vat i5 is suspended from the weighing beam 4 support a horizontal plate 3i, to the bottom face of which is secured a cylindrical shell 32 coaxially with shell 28. The bottom edge of shell 32 lies in an inclined plane.

Passed through the Wall of the receptacle #3 isa vertical pipe 33, the upper portion of which forms the continuation of spout i2, if vat 6 assumes the position corresponding to the desired specific. gravity of the suspension contained therein.

Relatively heavy suspension as from a thickener is supplied to tank it through pipe 55, and

clean water is supplied through pipe 29. The

water thus supplied, tends, by its impact against baflle 39, to radially flow into the annular space betweenshellslt and 28, whence it is discharged by pipe 271. .Part of said water, however, is compeiled by shell 32 to fall more or less vertically into the space confined by shell 23, whence it flows into tank M to form, together with the heavy suspension supplied by pipe iii, a suspenof medium density. If this suspension has the desired specific gravity as determined by weight '5, the vat 6 remains poised, and this means that the shell 32 assume the correct position.

Downward or upward movement of vat t, owing to increase or decrease of the specific gravity of the suspensioncontained therein, Will result in a corresponding movement of shell 32 and, ,as a consequence, to-increase or decrease of the proportion of clean water. suppliedto'tank i i.

If vat 8 assumes its correct position, the suspension from spout 42 will be discharged through pipe 33 to beused for the purpose stated, the

balance being'discharged by outlet 43 and returned. to the thickener. Should the suspension in. vat 6 be too dense, or too diluted, the spout 52 will assume a position below or above the mouth of pipe-i3, whereby said suspension is discharged into receptacle 3%.

Inpraotice it has been found thatthe apparatus described with reference to Figs. 1-3, although giving satisfactory results, requires a comparatively'large sized vat 6. 'Thisis due to the'fact that the full amount of suspension to be discharged by duct 33 has to pass said vat, so that it is necessary not only for pipe l'l, but also for the cross sectional area of the annular clearance between. said pipe and the cylindrical shellll, and consequently for said shell itself, to be amply sized, whereas a large diameter of shell i i in turn requires a large sized vat 6 since accurate. results can only be obtained if the diameter of shell ii is small relative to the capacity of said vat. In view thereoiit may be desirable for vat 6 to be by-passed bythe suspension of the desired density, for instance in. a'manner as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

In said figures, parts corresponding to parts shown in, Figs. .l-iand 3 are designated by the same reference numerals, so that they need not be described again.

In apparatus as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, suspension overflowing vat 6 is always discharged into receptacle [3, the same as in apparatus in accordance with Figs. 1 and 2. However, said liquid simply flows over the top face of the upper cone of vat 6. In order that this liquid shall not splash and thereby cause undesired movement of said vat, the latter is enclosed by an inverted truncated cone 3'! suitably spaced therefrom and secured to receptacle 13.

Only a small portion of the liquid discharged from tank M by pipe I! is fed, through a vertical branch 3'. of said pipe, to vat 6. The pipe I! itself opens a small distance above a stationary, horizontal bafile 38 enclosed by a receptacle 39 having an inclined bottom 3!? provided, at its lowest level, with a bottom opening 39 communicating with pipe 33.

Mounted in receptacle 39 around a central bottom opening Al is a hopper 4| provided with a discharge pipe 42.

Secured to the bottom face of counterweight 5 is a bell 40 mounted in concentric relation with baffle 38 and extending downward so far as to normally allow liquid, which is radially discharged by said baffie, to flow into the annular space confined between hopper M and the wall of receptacle 39. However, if the suspension in tank I4 is not dense enough and counterweight 5, as a consequence, descends, bell 46 will assume a position relative to baffle 38 as to compel the suspension from pipe 11 to flow into hopper 4|,

whence it is returned, by pipe 42, to the thickener (not shown), which also receives the liquid discharged by pipe l3 What I claim is:

An apparatus of the class described, the com;

bination of a weighing device having an index and a pivoted arm, one end of said arm carrying a counter weight, a receptacle carried by the other end of said arm, said receptacle being provided witha top inlet and a bottom outlet, a tank for fluid mounted above the receptacle and having an outlet pipe with its free end extended into the receptacle through said inlet, a liquid supply pipe above the tank and means carried by the said arm above the supply pipe and movable with said receptacle to divert liquid from the supply pipe into the tank.

KLAAS F. TROMP. 

